“Jet Fuel Afterburn”? Not so far off !!
by Bob Fasulka
When the Knuckleheads of Scotch initiated our first tasting, It was dubbed the “Pascack Valley Single Malt Scotch and Jet Fuel Afterburn Festival” by Robin. Little did he, or we know how appropriate a foreshadowing this title would be. In the past weeks a very interesting BBC television special has been produced with the aid of the Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay.
In 1881 the Harvey Brothers opened a distillery to produce the “purest spirit in Scotland”. Their efforts produced the various expressions of the Bruichladdich. Now in 2008 the Bruichladdich has produced “X4”, a quadrupled distilled whisky that is pure jet fuel!!! In fact, the team of Oz Clarke (wine aficionado) and James May (automotive’s “Top Gear”) decided to put this quadruple distilled X4 whisky to the test. With a Le Mans type “Radical SR4” racer supplied by “Radical Sportscars Ltd., they attempted to fuel this speedster with the X4 whisky. Astonishingly, or maybe not so unexpectedly, the car did 0 – 60 mph in 3.5 seconds! The car’s engine was completely unmodified from its gasoline set-up for this test. The only caveat was that the quadruple distilled X4 came directly from the stills and had not been aged the minimum of 3 years in oak casks to truly call it Scotch whisky. Before the trial run, Clarke had cautiously tasted a few drops of the X4 to verify that it truly was single malt Scotch whisky. Duncan Mac Gillivray, Bruichladdich Distillery Manager said, “the exhaust smells much better than petrol.” However, at about $50 per liter, it is doubtful that a solution to the gas crunch has been found.
Bruichladdich’s X4 has been stored in casks in 2006 and 2007, and is taking on a deep color with notes of cinnamon and spices. The wee angels and the Bruichladdich master distillers will determine its availability date. However, the spirit will be tamed from its cask strength. 4 times distilled whisky is deemed “perilous whisky”, with only about 2 spoonfuls constituting a “safe measure”. Beyond that may “stop ones breath, and endanger ones life.”
The BBC special on the X4 “fuel” will be aired later this year.
So, since many racecars are fueled by kerosene, and kerosene is also used as jet fuel, and now a single malt Scotch whisky has fueled a racecar, “Jet Fuel Afterburn” is a very apropos title for single malt Scotch tastings.
For more information on X4 and the BBC special visit the Bruichladdich web-site:
http://www.bruichladdich.com/latestnewsarticles/radicalx4adventure.htm
“Usige beatha”, laddies!